The drunk driver in the SXSW incident has been identified. Rashad Charjuan Owens, a 21 year old from Kileen, Texas, smashed his Toyota sedan through a DWI checkpoint. Reports indicate he was intoxicated at the time.
"Owens was asked to pull over at a sobriety check point and instead allegedly sped away from a police car. He smashed through a police barricade and then plowed down people, some of them lined up outside the Mohawk club, over a span of two blocks," said Greg Kot alongside the LA Times.
Owens will now be charged with "two counts of capital murder and 23 counts of aggravated assault" said a spokesperson for the Austin Police Department.At a news conference, Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo said, "The two people killed were a Texas woman who was riding on a moped and a Dutch man who was riding a bicycle. This is an individual that showed no regard for the human beings that he plowed into in his attempt to get away."
Before Tyler the Creator of Odd Future went on stage, Owens killed two people on a moped, and injured 23 at the SXSW music festival. Two of the five critically injured victims are suffering from head injuries. Five other event goers are still listed in serious condition.
According to LA Weekly, the driver “plowed through barricades erected to close off an area for music fans.” This accident took place at “Red River Street and East 10th Street an Austin” officers said. The police officer also mentioned “Basically what happened - it was still under DWI investigation - a driver ran through some temporary barricades we had set up for South by Southwest and after running through the barricades he continued to drive hitting multiple pedestrians."
"Two victims were dead at the scene," he said. "Police officers had been stationed around the SXSW festival before this accident took place. Luckily some were stationed nearby to the accident and were able to assist those that were injured."